November 21, 2009

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Best of 417 2008—Food

(page 3 of 4)

417 Magazine Publisher’s Pick for the Best Restaurant in Southwest Missouri
Nicol’s Fine Dining & Ledgestone Grill
“Nicol’s is one of the few places I’ve been where all four of us at the table completely enjoyed what we ordered,” says Publisher Gary Whitaker. Senior Editor Katie Pollock writes that the menu is “drool-worthy” in this month’s 417 Cooking Class story (p. 182). You’ll also find a warm stone-and-wood atmosphere accented with light contemporary music. EDITORS’ PICK

Best Misleading Restaurant (In a Good Way)
Crabby’s
The name of this Joplin place is puzzling. You won’t be crabby if you go there. The bland façade here opens into a decadent interior that showcases delicious cuisine equal to any of the fine restaurants in Springfield and Branson.

Best Branson Restaurant
Dick Clark’s AB Grill
Beating many strong competitors, Dick Clark’s AB Grill combines an atmosphere with Clark’s own ’50s memorabilia—a Frankie Avalon surfboard is in the collection—plus plenty of décor props to tailfin cars. The menu has burgers, shakes, sandwiches, steaks.
Runners-up: Candlestick Inn, Outback Steak & Oyster Bar

Best Joplin Restaurant
Red Onion Café
Readers chose this casual eatery, owned and operated by the Blum family since 1995. It’s located on East Fourth Street, very close to Joplin’s Main Street, a.k.a. the row down the town’s middle that’s now sprouting spring buds of renewal. The cuisine here is urbane bistro fare: one specialty is tilapia with a basil vinaigrette made in-house; at lunch, try the blackened tuna steak sandwich.
Runners-up: Fred and Reds Chili, Crabby’s

Best Restaurant Views
Candlestick Inn (Branson)
Tower Club (Springfield)
The Candlestick Inn has always been set across Lake Taneycomo from Branson’s historic hill; now, you can also see the fire-and-water show at Branson Landing. From the Tower Club, fireworks shows at Hammons Field burst open at eye level and all of Springfield is spread out before your feet.

Best Restaurant Atmosphere
Ocean Zen
Our theory on why readers chose Ocean Zen’s atmosphere as the best? After seducing guests with a dramatic entrance and glassy wine wall, Ocean Zen leads you into dining rooms that mix modern with coziness by breaking the space into small seating areas that feel like private space. The best tables are the elevated ones to the right of the front entrance.
Runners-up: Flame Steakhouse & Wine Bar, Kai After Dark

Best Appetizers
Touch
When it opened in 2005, Touch’s appetizer menu was hailed by some as the best thing about the place. The calamari here is some of the best in town; there are also bacon-wrapped dates and much more. A happy-hour menu even has half-priced treats.
Runners-up: Ophelia’s, Ocean Zen

Best Outdoor Dining
Galloway Station (Springfield)
Cantina Laredo (Branson)
South Springfield’s bar-by-the-greenway put down a nice concrete floor and added more seating this year. Hurrah! In Branson, Cantina Laredo has a nice lakeside spot. In the summer, you could do a lot worse than sit here with a beverage and some of the restaurant’s freshly made guac.
Runners-up: Trolley’s Downtown Bar & Grill, Springfield Brewing Company

Best Steaks
Flame Steakhouse & Wine Bar
Flame cooks its steaks using 1,500ºF heat. The top steaks here: a 22-ounce porterhouse and a 12-ounce ribeye. Both are dry-aged up to 14 days.
Runners-up: Argentina Steakhouse, Bijan’s Sea & Grille

Best Soup
Nearly Famous
The list of soups of the day here is as varied as the days on the calendar, but the gold—or should we say ripe-red—standard is the deli tomato. Completely vegetarian, chunky, not like something from a can at the supermarket.
Runners-up: Gallery Bistro, Flame Steakhouse & Wine Bar

Best Salads
Flame Steakhouse & Wine Bar
Flame co-owner Mike Jalili is a master at food and clever puns; at Flame, it’s the Garbage Salad. Far from garbage, it’s a steak salad with greens, Maytag bleu cheese and veggies.
Runners-up: St. Michael’s, Cassil’s Coffee Café

Best Caesar Salad
Tony Z’s Italian Ristorante
If there’s one Caesar salad in 417-land that conjures up the showmanship and wonder of the original Caesar Cardini treat, it’s Tony Z’s. Since it’s prepared tableside, Tony Z’s salad is only available for two or more people, which makes it a perfect couple’s treat. V-Day at Z’s? Think about it. EDITORS’ PICK

Best Sandwiches
Cassil’s Coffee Café
The secret to Cassil’s success, in our opinion: Good ingredients. No cheap lunch meat here. Try the Bangkok chicken wrap: chicken breast, sprouts, mushroom, lettuce, Asian sesame dressing and more, wrapped in a tomato-basil tortilla and grilled.
Runners-up: Sub Shop, Nearly Famous Deli & Pasta

Best Absence of Lettuce
Chilled Orzo Salad, Bruno’s Il Ristorante
Never heard of orzo? You’ll talk about it plenty after you try Bruno’s salad. It mixes the rice-shaped pasta (the name means “barley” in Italian, but the pasta is made of semolina) with veggies and vinaigrette. EDITORS’ PICK

Best Hangover Remedy
Pho at BamBu
BamBu Vietnamese restaurant serves enormous bowls of pho (say “fuh”), Vietnam’s clear-broth beef soup. Paired with a slightly sweet Vietnamese iced coffee, the enormous bowls of soupy noodles, beef and sides of fresh vegetables and herbs bring life into the weary body. EDITORS’ PICK

Best Desserts
Gallery Bistro
The dessert menu here cycles daily with new treats, but you can always have some kind of pleasing chocolate mischief or the delicious crème caramel. For those who like to sip dessert, the Bistro has an open-late bar with a clever martini menu that doesn’t always get its due. Try the Francis Gumm, a cocktail of Tuaca, a vanilla-citrus liqueur from Italy, mixed with a splash of lemon juice, simple syrup and Absolut Citron vodka.
Runners-up: Spring Creek Tea Room, Beth’s Bake Shoppe

Best Frozen Desserts
Andy’s Frozen Custard
How to have grown-up mudslide fun with Andy’s, the Springfield institution of custard: Step 1. Buy quart of Andy’s chocolate custard. Step 2. Visit your preferred purveyor of Kahlúa, Bailey’s and voddy. 3. Per person, blend six ounces custard plus one jigger of liqueurs; serve in frosted glasses.
Runners-up: Cold Stone Creamery, Emack & Bolio’s

Best Chocolate Fix
Candy House
The Joplin-based confection house charms customers each May with a (chocolate-covered) Strawberry Festival; it sells truffles year-round, too. But our favorite has been its new dark Ultimate 72 chocolate (72-percent cacao solids). You can even get the stuff in bars mixed with cashews. Springfield pride!
Runners-up: Andy’s Frozen Custard, Askinosie Chocolate

Best Factory Tour
Askinosie Chocolate
Former defense attorney Shawn Askinosie had the grand opening of his chocolate factory in May. He’s placed his business under the signs of transparency and sustainability. Part of that is releasing figures on the profits he shares with farmers in Latin America who supply the beans for Askinosie’s ultra-premium chocolate. Another part is the factory tour. You can see the entire factory and learn about everything from beans to bars. EDITORS’ PICK

Best Bakery
Supreme Bakery
Supreme’s known for its kringle pastries (the word means “ring” in Danish; the pastry has nuts and a tasty filling). If you’ve tried those, we suggest the cupcakes. One 417 Magazine staffer says they are the best she’s ever eaten.
Runners-up: Beth’s Bake Shoppe, Cassil’s Coffee Café

Best Beer Menu
Patton Alley Pub
Tap after tap lines the bar at Patton Alley Pub. Want Guinness? Pear cider? A seasonal Blue Moon? The Pub has it. This year, owner Eric Zackrison expanded the pub after his next-door space failed to transition from fine-dining to mass-market restaurant. Now the pub is serving a tweaked menu and plans to book many more musicians you’ve heard of in 2008.
Runners-up: Springfield Brewing Company, MudLounge

Best Sweet Beverage to Enjoy with a Sandwich
McAlister’s Iced Tea
The sweet tea at McAlister’s appeals to our Southern side with its frosty-cold, sweet goodness, especially during summer. If you need a break from the sugar rush, it tastes great ordered half-and-half, too (that’s half sweet, half regular). For plain iced tea, Kai (not a sandwich joint) has great stuff. You just have to try it. EDITORS’ PICK

Best Bar
MudLounge
MudLounge appeals to Boomers around happy hour and after nearby theatre performances, but its late-night crowd is made of younger hipsters and creative types. It has a large beer selection and mixed drinks prepared by bartenders who’ve been there for years... no two-week turnovers here. Plus, the Lounge is smoke-free everywhere but the patio for happy lungs.
Runners-up: Ernie Biggs Piano Bar, Tonic Ultralounge and Springfield Brewing Co. (tie)

Best Place to Cozy Up (In Style)
Fireplace, Parlor 88
It’s the new watering-and-nibbling place of choice on the south side of Springfield. The atmosphere is laid-back and pleasant with dim lights. Parlor 88 also has a beautifully designed fireplace topped with a shimmering metal chimney and a gorgeous bar. It’s surrounded by granite-topped bar tables and big red sofas that seat six or eight people. EDITORS’ PICK

Best Sports Bar
Skybox
Along with having an electronic Erotic Photo Hunt game, Skybox is the official March Madness Watching Center for south Springfield. Get a seat early to watch those lunchtime games next month.
Runners-up: Big Whiskey’s, Ebbets Field

Best Bar Food
Big Whiskey’s
Big Whiskey’s owner, Paul Sundy, was named Person of the Year by the editors of GO Magazine in December, partly for opening this “everyman” bar that delivers beer, ball games and great eats. Our picks: the white queso, any burger or the jalapeño poppers with raspberry dip (yes). Check the back wall for the specials chart.
Runners-up: Patton Alley Pub, Ebbets Field

Best Breakfast
Gailey’s Breakfast Café
Gailey’s Drug Store was founded by Beulah Gailey decades ago, then reborn as a breakfast diner by the owners of the MudHouse in 2005. The most fun aspect of the place, aside from sweet-potato hash browns, is building your own omelette. We like using asiago cheese and sundried tomatoes.
Runners-up: Anton’s Coffee Shop, Aunt Martha’s Pancake House

Best Local Brew
Mueller Unfiltered Wheat
Mueller owns Springfield Brewing Company and brews this beer, which has won three medals at the yearly Great American Beer Festival in Denver. Other Brew Co brews have raked in eight more beverage honors since 2000. EDITORS’ PICK

Best Martini Menu
Romeo y Julieta at Bijan’s
Twenty-odd martinis are on the list at this cigar bar (hence the name), which packs mosaic-topped tables and a humidor into a small space. Many of the cocktails are fruity, some are sweet. Our favorite is the bar’s eponymous Romeo y Julieta: Captain Morgan, B & B, Chambord, with splash of lemon and lime juices.
Runners-up: MudLounge, Flame Steakhouse & Wine Bar

Best Cocktails
Level 2
We think the most innovative drinkie-poos are to be found at Level 2. Go for the Belletini or the champagne and Red Bull cocktails here. (The description sounds appalling, but the effect is tasty.) EDITORS’ PICK

Best Happy Hour
Flame Steakhouse & Wine Bar
Flame’s delectable happy hour features two-for-one drinks (even call drinks) plus treats like mini-burgers and calamari. It rocks… and it ends right at six, so be prompt.
Runners-up: Touch, Big Whiskey’s

Best Wine List
Ophelia’s
Page upon page of wines are found here. Watch for chalkboard specials on high-end ones… it’s how we got a round of pricey Bordeaux for less once.
Runners-up: Flame Steakhouse & Wine Bar, Bijan’s Sea & Grille

Best Wine Steals
Bijan’s Sea & Grille
Bijan’s has found a way to brighten up the Monday blues. The restaurant offers half-priced wine—yip, by the bottle and by the glass—all day every Monday. Pick your half-off selection from the entire wine menu. Look for rarer wines such as Siduri and some reserve Beringer wines from the ’80s and early ’90s that are uncommonly old for list wines. EDITORS’ PICK

Best Everyday Low-Priced Wine
Avanzare
For our money, Avanzare is the spot. Restaurants routinely mark up wines from 200 to 400 percent; at Avanzare this simply isn’t the case. Try this price comparison: Louis Jadot Pouilly-Fuissé, a dry white that pairs nicely with creamy pasta, was $28 on a recent Avanzare wine menu. It frequently retails for around $22. The markup is only about 21 percent. You’ll find the same effect if you look for other, less unpronounceable bottles on the list. EDITORS’ PICK

Best Late-Night Snacks
Ziggie’s
Open 24 hours, Ziggie’s eight locations (including a new one in West Plains) have everything. Seriously, the menu has about 150 items on it, from Spanish omelettes to fettuccine Alfredo to Athenian chicken breast salad. We like the Greek things best.
Runners-up: Flame Steakhouse & Wine Bar, MudLounge EDITORS’ PICK

Best Japanese Restaurant
Nakato Japanese Steakhouse
Sushi here is traditional… nigiri and maki rolls aren’t presented on fire or in a deep-fried state, although the sushi bar does have a flowing “river” around it with little wooden boats for your plates of sushi. Perhaps most fun is the hibachi, especially when enjoyed with family.
Runners-up: Haruno, Hinode

Best Late-Night Delivery
Jimmy John’s
When a trip to Ziggie’s seems like too much, call in these guys and have a sammich.

Best Brunch
Hemingway’s Blue Water Café (Springfield)
Big Cedar Lodge (Branson)
Gourmets may sneer at the thought of the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World restaurant winning the Best Brunch. But the chef, Marcel Bonetti, began apprenticing at age 10 with his uncle’s three-star hotel in southern France and boasts decades of experience. At Big Cedar, the Worman House plays host to a champagne brunch each Sunday with carved meats, charcuterie, weekly special entrées, and more.
Runners-up: Valentine’s, Gailey’s Breakfast Café

Best French Toast
Anton’s Coffee Shop
There’s just something indefinable about it. It’s not stuffed with anything or flamed with Grand Marnier. It’s just good. EDITORS’ PICK

Best Business Lunch
Ocean Zen
Ocean Zen is a jiffy when it comes to impressing those out-of-town clients who might cast aspersions on small-town Springfield. They’ll be surprised what you get for the price. This time of year, we like the panko-breaded asiago chicken, served with shrimp and mashed potatoes, for about $10.
Runners-up: Metropolitan Grill, Mille’s Turn of the Century Café

Best Bridge-Playing Luncheons
Also known in some snarky corners as the best excuse to tipple a gimlet during daylight, you can’t go wrong at Argentina Steakhouse, Metropolitan Grill and The Tower Club. And bridge-players: Tip your servers! EDITORS’ PICK

Best Barbecue
Buckingham’s
This local group of barbecue places is notably famous for its barbecued half chicken. You can order this as a meal that comes with two sides; splits perfectly as a couple’s under-$10 dinner on a chilly winter night.
Runners-up: Crosstown Barbecue, Richard’s Hawg Wild BBQ

Best Cashew Chicken
Hong Kong Inn
The readers’ choice, Hong Kong Inn, is such a serious contender that Springfield expats in faraway states log onto foodie sites like Chowhound wanting the recipe. You just can’t get our cashew chicken outside 417-land.
Runners-up: Lucy’s, Canton Inn

Best Italian Restaurant
Gilardi’s Ristorante (Springfield)
Gilardi’s sets the standard for Springfield Italian food. It’s one of just two restaurants in town where the restaurateur in charge comes from Italy. Watch this space: In 2008, Nicola Gilardi plans to expand either with more renovation or a south Springfield location.
Tony Z’s (Branson)
In Branson, Tony Z’s has made quite an impression since it opened in 2005. It’s away from the hyper-touristy part of town and just generally brings a dose of elegance. While owner Tony Zurzolo serves standards like spinach-artichoke dip and pizza, you can also find braised pork shank, lamb, a daily seafood special and an extremely wide range of pasta.
Runners-up: Nonna’s Italian American Café, Avanzare

Best Anniversary
Cashew Chicken Turns 45
Cashew chicken’s 45th anniversary is being celebrated this year with great pomp and circumstance (and, the Springfield CVB hopes, national media attention). Fire & Ice chef Wing Leong, son of the cashew chicken inventor, David Leong, still makes cashew chicken Wednesday nights. David Leong will be celebrated; watch the calendar at 417mag.com for details on events that come up. EDITORS’ PICK

Best Chili
Casper’s (Springfield)
Springfield expat freelance writer/novelist-to-be Jordan Harper offers this bloggy homage to Casper’s chili: “The secret of good chili is simplicity itself. People ruin chili without even trying. For one thing, they put tomatoes in it. This is a huge mistake. The acid is unneeded and the mushy vegetable texture is just plain gross. Chili is meat (and I think the secret to Springfield’s best chili is the cheap, cheap hamburger they use. When the fat melts away into the gestalt, the remaining meat fiber is toothsome) and beans and spices. That’s pretty much it. Keep your green peppers and chunks of onion out.”
Billy Bob Dairyland (Branson)
If you’ve only been to Billy Bob Dairyland in Branson for its delicious (huge) burgers, try the chili.
Runner-up: Longhorn Grill

Best Hamburger
Ebbets Field
Brooklyn Dodgers fandom in Springfield may seem improbable, but that’s what Ebbets Field is all about. In that spirit, all the burgers here have special names. They start with “da” and end with the name of a Dodgers legend (pre-LA!). Our favorite is the edgy Da Fernando, topped with bleu cheese and jalapeños.
Runners-up: Flame Steakhouse & Wine Bar, W.F. Cody’s

Best Mexican Restaurant
Maria’s
What is the best thing about this place? Picking just one aspect is hard. Is it the nearly 100 tequilas that can be made into margaritas or sipped neat? Is it the appetizer menu, especially that queso-and-chorizo dip? Is it Mexican entrées such as the fried tacos?
Runners-up: Mexican Villa, Cielito Lindo

Best Pizza
Arris’ Pizza (Springfield)
Luigi’s (Branson/Nixa)
A guy from Greece started this pizzeria in 1961. Since then it’s blossomed with a location in Springfield, owned by the Kremer family. The best things about it? A tasty sourdough crust and pizzas with a Greek accent. Try the Heart of Zeus with artichokes, roma tomato, feta and house-made Greek sausage. This place has the occasional Brad Pitt sighting, including one right before press time.

With a new-ish location in Nixa, Branson-based Luigi’s is up and coming. Fresh ingredients make these pies zip.
Runners-up: McSalty’s, Garbo’s Pizzeria

Best Wings
Coyote’s Adobe
Coyote’s is an unpretentious spot in a hyper-convenient after-work location. It serves 23 kinds of chicken wings with witty names such as the Nixie Chicks (“sassy, saucy and sweet”) and Honey Dijon (“Grey Poupon?” asks the menu. “But of course!”). Our favorite? Chipotle Burnout. While you’re there, have chicken nachos, too.
Runners-up: Big Whiskey’s; Bumsteads and Ebbets Field and Springfield Brewing Company (three-way tie)

Best Sushi
Haruno
The sushi at this extremely popular Japanese restaurant inspires behavior modification. We know a pair of young 20-somethings who have been working their way through the sushi menu every payday. Their favorite so far? The eel combo roll, which convinced them they love eel. “What’s stinky,” says our couple, “is they keep adding new rolls, so it’s hard to keep up, although we don’t really mind.”
Runners-up: Ocean Zen, Nakato

Best Japanese Cuisine Derring-Do
Mijuri
What it lacks in wattage it makes up for in panache. Home of the Tyson roll (Fried chicken! Sushi! Springfield cannot resist!), as well as a delectable dish of thinly sliced beef you cook directly on heated stones at your table, plus Korean dance shows, this place has a blend of quirks and showmanship that make it a don’t-miss. EDITORS’ PICK

Best-Named Sushi Roll
The 417 Roll
It’s at Ocean Zen. Named after us. Need we say more? Try it out! EDITORS’ PICK

Best Thai Restaurant
Thai House
A perennial reader favorite that wins year after year. Try the chicken with peanut sauce. Another favorite includes stir-fried chicken with veggies, fresh jalapeño and big fresh basil leaves in a light sauce.
Runners-up: Thai Peppers, Tong’s Thai Cuisine

Best Queso
Cantina Laredo
Yes, this is a chain, but it serves some truly gourmet Mexican food, hard to come by in Branson. Festooned with chile meat, this queso is lip-smacking good. EDITORS’ PICK

Best Cajun Restaurant
Easy’s Cajun Restaurant
Home to a lively late-night bar scene, this Cajun place features a range of dishes Cajun, Asian and American. Blackened shrimp and tilapia are both good, and the appetizers are great fun.
Runners-up: Big Easy Grill, Jambalaya’s

Best Random Free Food & Sips
Brown Derby International Wine Center
While we quite enjoy our excursions to tastings at Vino 100 and WineStyles, the sample tastings at Brown Derby on Saturday afternoons can lead you through a vista of taste variety that no other place quite assembles. We’ve had seasonal beer, rustic pâté and bits of small-batch New England cheese here, all at once. EDITORS’ PICK

Best Tea Room
Beth’s Bake Shoppe & Tea Room
Long known for cakes, pies and desserts, Beth’s also has a tea room. Yes, the requisite chicken salad is on the menu, but try off-the-beaten path items such as the couscous salad (rosemary couscous, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, carrots, peas, bacon bits, feta and garlic roasted almonds, tossed in Italian dressing).
Runners-up: Spring Creek Tea Room, Tea Bar & Bites

Best Coffee Place
MudHouse
Drinking coffee, espresso and buying beans here is always fun… so much so that the list of competitors in the Springfield coffee business has grown through the years. MudHouse is almost always packed, for good reason: It has the coffeeshop experience down pat. If you haven’t had lunch here, try it… and hope it’s on a day when they serve cream of asparagus soup.
Runners-up: Cassil’s Coffee Café, Big Momma’s Coffee & Espresso Bar

Best Macchiato
Big Momma’s Coffee and Espresso Bar
Commercial Street’s café serves this Euro-riffic treat, a cup of espresso with just a little ploof of foam on top. It combines hyperstrong coffee with just a hint of creaminess. And it’s far more closely related to Italy than the milky-syrupy “caramel macchiato” found at national chain coffee places. EDITORS’ PICK

Best Donuts
St. George’s
There is a reason this donut is the official morning donut for the weekly meetings of GO Magazine staff. “One of the finest sights is the colorful array of donuts when we open up the box,” says Matt Lemmon, GO editor. “I’m partial to the cinnamon-sugar ones, but we have one staffer who, if he doesn’t get his blueberry donut, gets borderline violent.” Start your own scuffle by checking out St. Georges.
Runners-up: DayLight Donuts, LaMar’s Donuts (chain)

Best Takeout/Delivery
Mr. Yen’s
Open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Mr. Yen’s has a special carryout-and-drive-through menu consisting of 44 items, priced a bit lower than the rest of the menu. Runners-up: Hong Kong Inn, Ocean Zen

Best Smoothies
MudHouse
You try to pigeon hole a place for it’s delicious coffee drink selections, and here it comes with accolades for its equally delicious smoothies. Mudhouse employees say the Summer Soother is the most popular, but we also recommend the Polynesian, tart pineapple and raspberry deliciousness. Extra bonus: The yogurt used in the smoothies is fat free.
Runner-up: Tropical Smoothie Café (chain)

Best Fried Chicken
Riverside Inn
Founded by an artist and known originally as a speakeasy where the cream of Springfield society went to be mischievous, Riverside Inn lives on 80 years later on the banks of the Finley River. You can get chateaubriand or tuna steak here, but fried chicken is perhaps the most fun.
Runners-up: Heritage Cafeteria, Ziggie’s

Best Supermarket Deli
Harter House
Harter House takes the cake for its supermarket deli for a number of reasons. The smallness and exquisite cleanliness of these stores bespeaks much about small-town feel, which extends to the service at the deli counter. We head here for prepared takeout foods such as these awesome panini sandwiches.
Runners-up: Price Cutter Plus, Dillon’s